That perfect headline

I’ve often thought headline writing could anchor a game show that no one but copy editors would watch. The clock is ticking, space is limited, accuracy is a must, vitality is preferred -- and cleverness is the occasional icing on the cake.

Exciting, isn't it? Yet it’s under these conditions that we strive every day to draw your attention to the work of the reporters whose stories we edit.

Our mistakes can live in infamy (See “Dewey defeats Truman”), prompt phone calls from readers and, in instances of stomach-churning schadenfreude, wind up as fodder for a “Tonight Show” segment.

Alternately, our victories, when we pique your interest with concision or a bit of humor, come and go with a whisper. (In 17 years, I’ve seen one letter to the editor praising my newspaper’s headlines, an event so rare, it prompted a department-wide email).

Many of us on the presentation and editing desk prefer to keep a low profile.

Still, the next time you read a headline in the Tribune that draws you to a story that is perfectly related in content, emphasis and tone, thank the copy editor.